Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami urges politicians to speak sincerely about virus

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami urges politicians to speak sincerely about the virus.

His comments from the acclaimed author came hours after Japan announced that Tokoyo’s new daily cases rose to a record 1,337 on Thursday, up sharply from the previous high of 949 on Dec. 26.

In a two-hour live New Year’s Eve radio show, Murakami urged political leaders to “talk honestly from the gut” to the people to encourage their participation in slowing an upsurge in infections, which are on the brink of getting out of control.

During a conversation with one of two guests, Nobel physiology prize winner Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University at the show, Murakami said, “I think an essential problem with the coronavirus is our uncertain future, which is triggering a sense of fear, anger, and escapism among people, which I think is the biggest danger.”

“It would be difficult for the people to squarely cooperate with the (anti-virus) measures when politicians are not communicating with messages” in words that can reach people’s hearts, he added, without identifying any politician by name.

This comes in the wake of the criticism the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, have received for reading carefully scripted statements prepared by bureaucrats at news conferences, and frequently repeating the same phrases while responding to questions asked by reporters.

Known for bestsellers such as A Wild Sheep Chase, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and 1Q84, Murakami has hosted Murakami Radio shows almost every two months since August 2018 on Tokyo FM. 

Thursday’s program was his first live show since the pandemic started earlier he had been hosting a pre-recorded show from his home to cheer up people who were under stress during a state of emergency in place in parts of Japan, including the capital, Tokyo.

In his Thursday show, Murakami said that the issues raised by the coronavirus seem to be part of developments such as globalism, climate change, the rise of populism, and widening social disparity.